Spanish Student Visa

Tourism has encountered an enormous boost in Spain and the country had been able to improve its socio-economic situation due to its prosperous hospitality sphere. The national government, in order to guarantee the security of the foreign tourists and provide better law and order, enhanced a tangled way of getting visas for British residents. We are more than happy to share a detailed clear procedure on how to obtain a Spanish visa in 2022.

Picture of a visa to Spain
A visa to Spain

Let’s consider this:

Introduction

1. Top questions

1.1 What is a visa & who needs to get it?

1.2 What Student Visa is to enter Spain? 

1.3 How long is a Student Visa valid for?

1.4 When should I start applying to get a Student Visa?

1.5 How long does it take to get a Spanish Student Visa?

1.6 Where is the Student Visa processed?

1.7 How much does it cost to obtain a Spanish Spanish Visa?

1.8 How to pay?

2. Application process

2.1 Documents to apply for a Spanish Student Visa

2.2 Steps to apply for a Spanish Student Visa

3. Student Visa Extension

In overall 

The boom in the number of international travelers in Spain has led to numerous benefits in terms of local business & study generation. This is also linked to global funding and infrastructure improvement. In parallel, there is an issue about their influence on the local population in Spain. While questions have been raised on the detrimental effects alongside the increase in the Spanish travel industry, it is of high importance to say that, by enforcing strict law and order and implementing clear and transparent legislation, authorities may regulate most of these bad effects of trips to Spain. For this reason, certain visa requirements have brought innumerable perks to Spanish and especially the local citizens. On the other side, we are sure that the procedure of obtaining a visa to enter Spanish is not as complicated thing as it seems to be. Let’s start to answer as well as get the responses to some questions to find out the Spanish visa application process.

1. Top questions

1.1 What is a visa & who needs to get it?

According to Wikipedia definition, a visa is a permit given by Italy that allows someone to fly, stay in, or pass through the border of Spain. This document is stamped on one’s passport by a Visa Application Center. It goes without saying, there is the type of visit and the duration of staying in the country. In rare cases, people have to be interviewed at the Visa Application Center before they obtain a visa. Henceforth, it can be confidently conveyed that some categories of citizens who reside in the UK are offered visa-free conditions to see Spain.

British citizens are exempted from visas for short stay visits to the Schengen area (up to 90 days in any 180 days period) but will require a visa if staying more than 90 days in Spain. On the other side, if you do not hold a UK passport or a BOTC, BOC, BPP, or BS passport meaning that you are a UK resident there is a need to get a Spanish Schengen visa to visit Spain.

Please, take a look at the tables to check out whether your nationality requires you to apply for a Spanish visa or not.

 

[expand title=”The countries whose citizens are required to get a Spanish visa in order to enter there are”]

A
AfghanistanAlgeriaAngolaArmeniaAzerbaijan
B
BahrainBangladeshBelarusBelize
BeninBhutanBoliviaBotswana
Burkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundi
C
CambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChad
ChinaComorosCongoCote D’ivoireCuba
D
Dem. Rep. Of CongoDjiboutiDominican Republic
E
EcuadorEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEthiopia
F
Fiji
G
GabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana
H
Haiti
I
IndiaIndonesiaIranIraq
J
JamaicaJordan
K
KazakhstanKenyaKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstan
L
LaosLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibya
M
MadagascarMalawiMaldivesMali
MauritaniaMongoliaMoroccoMozambique
N
NamibiaNepalNigerNigeriaNorthern Mariana’sNorth Korea
O
Oman
P
PakistanPapua New GuineaPalestinian AuthorityPhilippines
Q
Qatar
R
RussiaRwanda
S
Sao Tome And PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSierra Leone
SomaliaSouth AfricaSouth SudanSri Lanka
SudanSurinameSwazilandSyria
T
TajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-Leste
TogoTongaTunisiaTurkey
Turkmenistan
U
UgandaUzbekistan
V
Vietnam
Y
Yemen
Z
ZambiaZimbabwe

[/expand]

 

With the primary condition such as a UK residence permit valid for at least another three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Spain / the Schengen Area comes a plethora of benefits like you can live in Spain for less than 90 days but if your idea is about staying in Spain for more than 90 days, then there is a need to apply for a residency permit, not a Spanish Schengen visa.

If you have a 3 month UK visa, you can extend it for three more months to be eligible to apply for a Spanish Schengen visa from within the UK. You must apply for an extension before your visa expires and while you’re still in the UK.

1.2 What Student Visa is to enter Spain? 

This is issued for those who wish to study in Spain for a short time.

1.3 How long is a Student Visa valid for?

The time of visa to be actual is primarily dependent on a visa type. Consequently, this enables us to pay attention to the duration and prepare some documents to make your trip with great pleasure.

A student visa is normally issued for a maximum of 90 days per 6-month period. Remember that if the total duration of your stay exceeds 90 days, you will be issued a long-stay national visa.

1.4 When should I start applying to get a Student Visa?

It is highly recommended to apply for a Spanish Student Visa at least 20 calendar days prior to the planned trip.

1.5 How long does it take to get a Spanish Student Visa?

You will be replied to by the Visa Application Center from one to four weeks from the day you submit your application.

Normally proceeding time takes up to two months if there is something unusual in a certain situation.

1.6 Where is the Student Visa processed?

IF YOU VISIT ONLY SPAIN THEN you need to submit your application at the Spanish Visa Center IN THE UK.

IF YOU VISIT MORE COUNTRIES THAN SPAIN THEN you need to submit your application at the Visa Center IN THE COUNTRY:

– you will be spending more days;

– you will come in first since you plan to spend an equal amount of days in each.

Picture of BLS International
BLS International

Address:

Lower Ground Floor, Cromwell House,
14 Fulwood Place, London, WC1V 6HZ

Contact details:

Phone: +442031291651
Email: info.lhr@blshelpline.com

However, to meet the skyrocketing demand for Spanish Visas, the Spanish Embassy outsourced its Visa Application processing to the Spanish Visa Centers in London. To be added, a Visa Application Centre is a special third-party service provider authorized to accept visa applications on behalf of a country. It should transmit the information on the applicant and their application to the responsible body for visa processing which is the embassy or consulate of the applicant’s destination country. Our company is ready to help you with filling and sending the necessary documents to the Visa Application Center. Thus, at present, our company corrects and sends the documents to get Spanish Visas through BLS International Visa Application Center.

1.7 How much does it cost to obtain a Spanish Student Visa?

The cost for processing a visa is totally different for some categories of UK residents:

– 73 UK pounds is the actual visa processing fee for adults;

– 36,5 UK pounds is the actual visa processing fee for the 6-12 years old kids.

There is no fee to be paid for the next categories of UK residents:

– the kids younger than 6 years of age;

– a family member of an EU/EEA national.

1.8 How to pay?

You have the option of paying the visa fees by cash or Credit/ Debit card when applying at the Visa Application Centre. Checks are not accepted.

2. Application process

2.1 Documents to apply for a Spanish Student Visa

When applying for a Spanish Student Visa, you must provide the next documents:

FIRST DOCUMENT – VISA APPLICATION FORM 

You need to fill in your Short-stay Visa Application Form legibly, and correctly, sign it, and be aware that addresses in Spain must specify the number, street name, city, and postal code.

Please make use of the following table to fill in the form correctly:

The appropriate Form SectionOur explanation of each Form Section
SurnameFill in your name like it is on your passport (do not write “married name” and your husband name)
Surname at birthWrite the name you had at your birth if different than your current surname
First Name (s)Write your first name like it is on your passport
Date of birthFill in your date of birth like this: day/month/year
Place of birthFill in your place of birth like it is on your passport
Country of birthFill in your country of birth even there is no it on your passport
Current NationalityFill in your nationality like it is on your passport
Nationality at birth, if differentFill in your nationality at birth if it is different from the nationality on your passport
Other nationalities
SexFill in your male or female gender
Marital StatusFor a common-law marriage, indicate “common-law marriage” in the section “Other”. For a PACS (Italian civil union contract) with an Italian citizen, indicate “PACS” in the section “Other“
Parental AuthorityFill in the full name, address, telephone number, email address, and nationality of the person who keeps parental authority or legal guardianship
National Identity NumberFill in your national identity number if you have this one
Type of travel documentWrite the appropriate kind of your travel document
Number of travel documentWrite the appropriate numbers of your travel document
Date of issueWrite the date your passport was issued (not the extension date)
Valid untilWrite your passport expiration date taking into account the extensions
Issued byWrite the country of issuing your passport and the authority that issued the passport
Personal data of the family member who is a European Union, EEA or Swiss Confederation citizen or is a UnitedFill in the full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, and relationship only if you are the dependent spouse, child, father, or mother of a person who is a citizen of another State of the European Union.
Kingdom citizen beneficiary of the withdrawal agreement, if applicable
Family relationship with an European Union, EEA or Swiss Confederation citizen, or with United Kingdom citizen beneficiary of the withdrawal agreement, if applicableFill in the corresponding status
Applicant's home address and e-mail addressWrite the e-mail address: 1) your own one, either 2) another person one, or 3) company (accordingly, write the name of the mailbox owner).
Telephone numberWrite your cellular number in your residence country and, where appropriate, in the country where you are submitting your visa application
Residence in a country other than the country of current nationalityIf you are living in other country you need to write the number of your residence permit and its expiration date
Current occupationFill in the current occupation like it is on the passport, for example: “professor” or “retired (former designer)”. If you have no occupation, write “no occupation”
Employer and employer's address and telephone numberFill in the name of the organization (firm, public service, educational institution) where you work or study and its name, address, and telephone number
For students, name and address of educational establishment
Purpose(s) of the journeyWrite the appropriate goal of your travel
Member State of main destination (and other Member States of destination, if applicableWrite Italy as your primary destination. If it is a Italian overseas department or territory, write “Italy” and the name of the department or territory
Member State of first entryFill in “Italy”
Number of entries requestedWrite your desired number of entries with the dates of arrival and departure
Fingerprints collected previously for the purpose of applying for a Schengen visaIf your fingerprints have already been taken for a visa application, write the date
Entry permit for the final country of destination, where applicableWrite the number and validity dates for your visa at your final destination, if this country is outside the Schengen area
Surname and first name of the inviting person(s) in the Member State(s). Address and e-mail address of inviting person(s). Telephone numberWrite the name of the person who invited you, address, e-mail and a phone number
Name and address of inviting company / organization, phone number and e-mail numberWrite the contact info of the organization that invited you and the contact info for your contact person in the organization
Cost of travelling and living during the applicant's stay is coveredIndicate the necessary boxes
Place and dateWrite the place and date where you are filling in the form, even if this date is different than the day you are going to the visa service
SignatureThe visa applicant must sign and not another person. If the visa applicant is a minor (under 18), the application must be signed by a person having parental authority and their relationship should be included in parentheses (father, mother, guardian). If the visa applicant cannot sign, a cross may be used

SECOND DOCUMENT – TWO RECENT PHOTOS

It is recommended to follow all the following Spanish Visa Photo Requirements:

– Two identical photos. Not older than six months;

– Photo size: 35x45mm (width*height);

– In color. No black and white;

– Head should take 70-80% of the photo;

– Brightly colored background. Light grey is suggested;

– The applicant should be looking straight at the camera;

– Neutral face expression. No smile and mouth closed;

– Avoid uniforms or colors matching the background.

THIRD DOCUMENT –ROUNDTRIP RESERVATION

This doc comprises dates and flight numbers indicating entry and exit from the Schengen area.

FOURTH DOCUMENT – VALID PASSPORT

Your passport’s maximum validity period: 10 years.

Your passport minimum validity period: 3 months after your trip to Spain. Your passport should have at least two blank pages in order to be able to affix the visa sticker.

FIFTH DOCUMENT – TRAVEL HEALTH INSURANCE

You need to be aware of some travel insurance requirements, such as the following:

– A minimum coverage of at least 30,000 EUR;

– It should cover all member states of the Schengen Area;

Regarding this, it is highly recommended to contact one of the companies like AXA or Europ Assistance.

Picture of AXA insurance company page
AXA insurance company page

SIXTH DOCUMENT – A COPY OF BIOMETRIC DATA ON YOUR PASSPORT

Picture of biometric data
Biometric data

SEVENTH DOCUMENT – TIED WITH A RUBBER BAND BUT NOT STAMPLED PREVIOUS PASSPORTS

EIGHTH DOCUMENT – PROOF OF RESIDENCY IN THE UK

All you need is to have a document issued by the UK to prove that you are a UK resident.

NINTH DOCUMENT – PROOF OF ACCOMMODATION

You are able to select one of the next options to live in Spain while you are studying:

– dormitory contract. It should be signed by you and an official of a dormitory in Spain;

– letter of invitation from the host at whose house you want to stay;

– rent contract with a property owner in Spain where is address and other info about the property and your landlord.

TENTH DOCUMENT – ACCEPTANCE LETTER AT AN ITALIAN UNIVERSITY/ COLLEGE/ SCHOOL AND PROOF OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

Please prepare an actual, official, and signed letter of acceptance including your name, a short description of your studies, your study duration, and the number of hours per week.

ELEVENTH DOCUMENT – PROOF OF SUBSISTENT FINANCIAL MEANS

This is a supporting document that demonstrates you have enough money to support yourself when your stay in Spain. Proof of subsistent financial means maybe one of these docs:

– bank account statement;

Picture of bank account statement
Bank account statement

– sponsorship letter from another person who can financially support your trip to Italy;

– official scholarship.

Any applicant when applying for Spain Visa should attest to the Spain Visa Application Center possessing this:

at least 100€/day, with a minimum of €900per person regardless of the intended duration of the stay.

In other words, there are some recognized docs to use as proof of subsistent financial means:

– a personal bank statement with your financial affairs for at least 3 last months;

– credit card;

– cash;

– cheques;

– payslips;

– proof of employment;

– document from your sponsor during your stay;

– proof of prepaid accommodation;

– a document about your private accommodation;

– proof of prepaid transport;

– other docs.

TWELFTH DOCUMENT – PROOF OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

There are some options like:

– diploma;

– academic records;

– attestation of the application for equivalence or decision/dispatch of equivalence.

THIRTEENTH DOCUMENT – DOCUMENTS FOR MINORS

– an extract of the minor’s birth certificate;

– an identity document bearing the parents’ signature (one document for each parent);

– a declaration of consent from both parents, stating that the minor can travel;

– if relevant: a court judgement stating which parent has been allocated parental responsibility for the minor;

– if relevant: a declaration from the minor’s school consenting to his/her absence.

FOURTEENTH DOCUMENT – PROOF OF OCCUPATION

In case of your employment:

– employment contract;

– leave permission from the employer;

– Income Tax Return.

 

In case of your self-employment:

– a copy of your business license;

– company’s bank statement of the latest 6 months;

– Income Tax Return (ITR).

 

In case of your studies:

– proof of enrollment;

– No Objection Letter from University.

2.2 Steps to apply for a Spanish Student Visa

Irrespective of your visa type, your movements after collecting all the corresponding docs to getting a Spanish visa are the same:

FIRST STEP – find out the option of applying – through the Visa Application Center on your own or contact us to help you with filling out the documents.

Picture of your choice of applying
Your choice of applying

SECOND STEP – figure out the appropriate time to go in person to apply for the Spanish Visa.

Picture of your choice of time to come to us
Your choice of time to come to us

THIRD STEP – make an appointment at the Spanish Visa Application Center

There are two options to make an appointment:

– online;

– in person.

Picture of an appointment at the Spanish Visa Application Center
Make an appointment at the Spanish Visa Application Center

FOURTH STEP – attend the interview with the collected documents.

Picture of your interview
Your interview

FIFTH STEP – pay the visa fee.

Picture of paying money for your visa
Paying money for your visa

SIXTH STEP – wait for a reply from the application center on your visa application.

Picture of a reply from the VFS application center
A reply from the VFS application center

Take note that the visa application form must clearly contain the dates of your visit and which cities you will be staying in. For this reason, it is better to collect your documents and fill in your visa application form once you have all of the information you need for the visa application.

3. Student Visa Extension

You can extend your student Spanish Visa only due to top-importance cases such as a late entry, humanitarian reasons, force majeure, or important personal reasons. On the other hand, if you want to extend your Student Spanish Visa to continue your studies in Spain where you are, that is impossible. In this case, you will have to come back to the UK and apply from there for a long-stay study visa.

In overall,

We do really hope this article has helped you apply for a Spanish visa from the United Kingdom.

Thank you so much for reading this article. Stay with us! Please share this article!